1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to guards for outboard motor propellers and more particularly to a guard that prevents contact between a blade of a sailboat rudder and propeller blades of an outboard motor mounted on one side of a stern transom of the sailboat.
2. Prior Art:
Guards to protect blades of a boat outboard motor propeller have been known and in use for a number of years. In most cases such guards shield the propeller from foreign objects and vegetation in water in which the boat is traveling.
One early example of a guard for outboard motors is disclosed in U.S Pat. No. 2,054,374. In this case, the guard comprises a pairs of bars. Attached to each bar is a pair of curved wire prongs. The bars then are bolted to a vertical housing for a propeller shaft of the motor to locate one prong pair on each side and to a rear of the propeller.
Another early propeller guard for outboards motors is set out in U.S. Pat. No. 2,470,874 and includes a collar fitted to the propeller shaft vertical housing of the motor. The collar forms a pivot for a pair of downwardly extending hangers. Lower ends of these hangers curve outward and project rearward on respective sides of the propeller. When not in use, the guard may be swung up and out of the water by releasing the hangers from a clamp attached to the housing below the collar.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,533 discloses a more recent boat motor propeller guard having a main rib that fits over a leading edge of the propeller shaft vertical housing of the motor. This rib is secured in part to the housing by a clamping strap connected to a V-shaped bracket on the rib top end. Extending rearward from each side of the main rib is a pair of horizontal, spaced apart side ribs located respectively above and below the propeller. On a bottom end of the main rib is a sleeve that fits over a lower rudder fin of the motor and a set of three shock absorbing ribs that extend below and to a rear of the propeller.
Lastly, a wire, basket-shaped propeller guard is set forth in Finnish Patent No. 25,617. This guard is slidably disposed on a vertical rod allowing the guard to be lowered and then rotated to partially enclose the propeller of a boat fitted with an in-board motor. While not shown, the basket seemingly is formed with a horizontal slot allowing the basket to pass over a shaft of the propeller.